A corset, if one is worn, should not extend below the waist-line, and should have elastic side-lacing.
To choose what to wear when the weather is changeable is rather difficult; and the bicyclist starting early in the morning for an all-day outing must expect changes of temperature during the day. Starting, the coat may be folded on the handles, and the sweater worn; later, as the sun grows warmer, the sweater may be removed; at the noonday halt, the coat may be donned while lunching, as it usually seems chilly coming under cover; later in the afternoon the sweater is again of use; and before the evening is advanced, the coat worn over the sweater often proves acceptable.
For touring, only an extra change of underwear, with a change of neckwear, is needed to carry on the wheel.
To look well at all times when bicycling, it is necessary to remember the possible conditions that may be encountered, and to wear no garment that may prove incongruous.
When touring, of course, fresh toilettes may be indulged in at the expense of extra luggage. The chief pleasure of bicycling is independence and the joy of being free; yet a long trip without access to the conveniences and even the luxuries of civilization, should not be attempted. A trunk may be sent home as soon as it has been proved unnecessary, or sent ahead and met at intervals; but its non-arrival should never be allowed to disconcert the traveller.
It is an accepted fact that bicycling cannot be properly enjoyed unless the clothing is suitable. Of course, one can take a drop-frame bicycle, mount, and wheel slowly for a short distance, barring inconveniences, in ordinary dress; so can one swim a little if unexpectedly placed in the water. Bicycling requires the same freedom of movement that swimming does, and the dress must not hamper or hinder.
CHAPTER XII.
Watch and Cyclometer.
Suitably attired, with a bicycle of the latest model and most perfect construction, it matters little whether the residence be in town or country, for the largest city is soon left behind. The country, when the highway ceases to be passable, is easily traversable on the foot-trodden pathway beside it. Wherever the foot has trodden, the wheel may follow, if the path be well defined; and as the wheel can be carried easily, there is no limit but the limit of endurance in crossing country that cannot be wheeled over. But in order to cover distance without dismounting and within a time limit, where the speed attained is an element to be considered, good roads should be chosen.
The bicycle multiplies our power of advancing by five. One who can walk three miles in an hour can wheel fifteen miles on a bicycle, given all the conditions necessary to attain that speed for the period of an hour. The wonderful speed of the running and sprinting athlete is again multiplied by five, for a short time, in the contests where wheeling records are made.